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15:41, 28-Oct-2017
China, US agree to simplify reciprocal airworthiness certification
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China on Friday reached a new agreement on airworthiness with the US, paving the way for its domestically produced aircraft such as the C919 to be flown in the US market.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the signing of a new deal under the China-US Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) recognizing each other’s regulatory systems with respect to the airworthiness of aviation products.
This agreement allows each authority to leverage approvals completed by the other in terms of design, production, and airworthiness as well as continued airworthiness, and fulfills the commitment that China and the US made in 2005 with the establishment of the BASA.
Under this accord, aircraft already certified by the CAAC will face less scrutiny from authorities in the US in getting their certification, which will make it easier for China’s homegrown planes to be sold in the developed market.
The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) tested its C919 jet, the country’s first domestically produced large jet, in May. China has long pursued an ambitious goal to become an advanced manufacturing powerhouse and break into the passenger-jet market dominated by Airbus and Boeing.
The COMAC has taken orders for 730 C919 planes from 27 customers. The single-aisle C919 isn’t China’s first passenger jet. The COMAC previously developed a smaller regional jet, the ARJ21, which competes with aircraft from Bombardier Inc. and Embraer SA.
China is seeking to gain the European Aviation Safety Agency’s approval for the C919 as part of negotiations under a China-EU air-safety agreement.